LSU Football: Garrett Nussmeier isn’t content being a backup as a true freshman
By Zach Ragan
LSU football has a trio of experienced quarterbacks that are expected to compete for the Tigers’ starting quarterback job in 2021.
Redshirt senior Myles Brennan is the favorite to be LSU’s starter when the season opens on September 4 at UCLA.
Brennan excelled in three starts for the Tigers in 2020, before an abdomen injury forced him to the sideline for the rest of the season.
In Brennan’s absence, true freshmen Max Johnson and TJ Finley showed plenty of promise.
Johnson and Finley are expected to legitimately compete with Brennan for the starting job this spring/fall.
Could a true freshman be in the mix to start for LSU football?
With three experienced quarterbacks on the roster, there’s really no reason to even mention true freshman Garrett Nussmeier and the starting quarterback job in the same sentence.
Except for the fact that Nussmeier, who signed with LSU as a four-star recruit during the 2021 recruiting cycle, plans to win the starting job.
Yes, you read that right.
247Sports’ Shea Dixon reported this week that Nussmeier is approaching spring practice intending to be LSU’s starting quarterback this fall.
“He’s hitting this offseason like he’s working to win the job,” wrote Dixon.
Nussmeier almost certainly won’t be the Tigers’ starting quarterback against UCLA (unless there are multiple injuries). The experience that Brennan, Johnson, and Finley possess is something that Nussmeier simply can’t compete with.
LSU fans, however, should absolutely love Nussmeier’s competitive approach.
It would be easy for Nussmeier to bide his time, knowing that he’ll eventually get a shot as LSU’s starter.
But he’s not content to take that approach. Nussmeier wants to be the guy now — not down the road.
That kind of competitiveness is what’s going to make Nussmeier great in Baton Rouge.
Next. Joe Burrow is sticking to his diet. dark
His time as the Tigers’ starting quarterback may not be coming this fall, but that doesn’t matter to Nussmeier. He’s going to compete every day like it’s his job to win.